6 hours ago
6
Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!
Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.
Visit Suniway.ph to learn
Bella Cariaso - The Philippine Star
June 5, 2026 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — Before the School Year 2026-2027 begins on June 8, Marie Yzsa Madula said she spent more than P13,500 during Brigada Eskwela, including the repair of the comfort room, roof, and repainting of the classroom.
“I have been in the service for 14 years but I have never received even one liter of paint from DepEd…” Madula said, referring to the Department of Education.
Another teacher, Mean Cerda, said she spent at least P3,000 to prepare her classroom during the DepEd’s week-long National Schools Maintenance Week ending Friday.
“Teachers should have Brigada Eskwela allowance,” Cerda said.
An entry-level teacher earns P31,705. With government deductions at almost P5,000, the net take home pay drops to just over P26,000. If teachers spend P5,000 for Brigada Eskwela, this is equivalent to 19 percent of their monthly salary.
Teachers are tired of shouldering the burden of Brigada Eskwela, paying out of their own pockets year after year for basic school maintenance and repairs.
The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) survey revealed that teachers continue to bear the burden of school expenses and unpaid additional work despite repeated government assurances that their workload would be reduced.
The teachers’ group has said that 75 percent of teachers reported spending their own money for Brigada Eskwela activities.
Teacher of six years Richell Cindy said she is tired of paying for broken chairs and broken tables, and other things like an electric fan in her classroom.
“Based on our experience, after less than three months, the chairs are damaged and it’s illegal to compel the students who broke it to shoulder the expenses,” Cindy said.
This means teachers are forced to use their own money to fix them, she added.
The DepEd’s 2025 Brigada Eskwela guidelines state teachers may earn one day of service credit for every eight hours of service, up to five days of service credits.
However, teacher Rodrick Alfred Dorol said he had received none of this.
“They will encourage you to clean, complete the weeklong (Brigada). When you submit your daily time record and complete documents to the division, they will not approve it and will not give you proper explanation,” Dorol said.
Although it is common practice for community members and volunteers to help during Brigada Eskwela, teacher Eimzjemeoel Herrera said that it was difficult to involve parents.
“Sometimes parents came to help clean, paint a little, but many did not participate. It is sad and tiring, but that is the truth,” Herrera said.
Teacher Alma Almario Ramirez said she didn’t rely on parent volunteers to prepare her classroom.
“My children and my husband painted my walls and tables so that the DepEd wouldn’t have any complaints,” Ramirez said.
Bernadette Pareja Bon said she did the same thing, with her husband helping to renovate her classroom.
Carmen Oserin said she always remembers the advice of past principal that the “classroom is your second home and a teacher’s personality is reflected in his or her classroom.”
“That’s why we can’t bear not to spend money from our meager salary to prepare our classrooms… At least to make them look clean before our students arrive, that’s part of our duty,” Oserin said.
Teacher Bertilia Pantaleo said she is “out of pocket,” just like April Cristine Arquiza Medina, who just wanted her classroom to be comfortable.
For Amelinda Bagabaldo Visto, there would be no need for Brigada Eskwela if the government funded basic school maintenance and repairs.
74% of teachers report performing unpaid work
At least 74 percent of teachers who served as tutors under the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) Program said they received neither overtime pay nor transportation allowance.
ACT chairperson Ruby Bernardo said the findings exposed the widening gap between official pronouncements and the actual conditions teachers face on the ground.
“It is clear from the survey results that DepEd has failed in its promise not to burden teachers with the ARAL Program, while the flagged P8.9 billion allocated for the program has not been realized because teachers who performed additional work during the vacation were not paid, and were forced to spend and scramble to provide reading materials for children,” Bernardo said.
